BitMEX pays a $100M fine

1/ @CFTC and #FinCEN (the financial watchdogs of the USA) resolution with @BitMEX is quite important for the crypto world. It taught all the crypto world a lesson who’s the boss in the world. No matter where you are Uncle Sam can get you. Ruling: https://bit.ly/3yCYs44

2/ As was expected, the wrist slapping was quite substantial in absolute terms. But in relative terms it was A) below the most famous cases of exactly the same violation of this Bank Secrecy Act B) very cheap for BitMEX. Image credit to CB Insights http://bit.ly/2FWB9dS

3/ Bank Secrecy Act, as counter intuitive as it may sound, is actually not about secrecy, but about doing KYC on your American customers and AML on their funds

4/ Interesting AML related cases resulted in $2B fine for JP Morgan, $613M fine for U.S. Bancorp and $378M fine for Rabobank.

5/ The $2B penalty incurred by JP Morgan Chase for its role in the fraudulent Madoff investment scheme remains the largest AML-related penalty imposed on a financial institution

6/ Rabobank that accepted $378M of allegedly cartel cash 6 minutes walking distance from the Mexican border and then forfeited this cash equivalent as a fine. Picture below is approximate size of the cash in $100 bills.

7/ Bancorp $613M penalty for among other things having too few AML guys with very old computers, but also working with a loan shark Scott Tucker who was giving away micro loans in cash for a few weeks to poor suckers with low credit score. For that he went to prison for 16 years.

8/ However BitMEX founders are not off the hook yet. In the Rabobank case George Martin, a former vice president at the bank, had to complete 50 hours of community service after which case was dropped against him after two years. Not a bad deal for the BitMEX guys.

9/ If $135M naming rights for a stadium is cheap for @SBF_FTX then the watchdogs of the world can think they have a right to come after players like @binance and @FTX_Official and the fines can be larger